PROJECT HOPE BRINGS HOPE BASED ON FAITH, MENTORING

Drawing on strength from one another and the strength of prayer, area churches are able to make a difference in the lives of people making the transition from welfare to work.

"We get that strength that comes from God," said Dennis Rigdon, program director for Project HOPE, who would like to see the community's churches share that strength.

Project HOPE is a faith-based mentoring program for people making the transition from welfare to work. It began earlier this year and is funded through a grant from the Caring Communities program.

"It's miraculous, and God is working in people's lives," he said. "You can strongly see the effects on people's lives."

Rigdon and Bettie Sayers, who operate the Project HOPE office at 1911 Woodlawn Ave., can immediately see the differences the program has made in the lives of people involved in faith-based mentoring.

Sayers said that just in talking on the phone with one woman you can hear the difference in her voice. During the first visit the two had, she "crawled to the door," Sayers said. "Now you can see it in her walk."

That change came through much prayer and support the woman received from members of Greater Dimension Church. Mentors at the church expect to expand their program soon.

Mentoring teams from Greater Dimension Church and Evangelical United Church of Christ met Thursday with Rigdon and Sayers to talk about the program and receive certificates for their participation.

Volunteers from Greater Dimension Church and Evangelical United Church of Christ helped kick off the program this spring. Area churches volunteer to act as mentors for people making that transition to offer advice, support and education. Volunteers are still being accepted to match with participants.

Maxine Montgomery, who works as part of the mentoring team at Greater Dimension, said she wanted to be part of the program because she could see its importance.

She mentors a single mother. Montgomery said that when she first began talking with the woman "she was down in the dumps and depressed" and wanted to give up.

"I wanted to build up her self-esteem and tell her that as a single parent you never give up," Montgomery said, adding that she would have benefited from such a program when she was raising her two children.

"She was giving up on prayer and faith in God," she said. Through conversations and encouragement the woman is now attending church and has found a new job.

Montgomery offers simple suggestions and advice. When the woman was feeling down, "I told her to get her hair done or take the kids to the park and have a day of enjoyment because all those problems will be there when you get back."

What Montgomery doesn't do is allow her mentoring partner to "wallow in self-pity," she said. "You have to focus more on the good instead of the negative."

Each participant in the program must agree to develop a plan and set short-term goals that can easily be accomplished so that longer-range plans are developed, Rigdon said.

Much of the training and organizational elements of Project HOPE are based on a program from South Carolina called "Putting Families First." The training teaches both the participants to "set goals they can accomplish and make a timeline to accomplish them so they can feel good about their self-esteem," Rigdon said. "Then they can set dreams."

"The idea is to teach them to be self-sufficient," he said. Part of the program deals with setting attainable goals but also offering training and education about everyday matters like banking and budgeting so that the person can continue to succeed, he said.

The Workforce Investment Board, formerly the Private Industry Council, often helps with finding people interested in the mentoring program. Participants can select a religious preference before getting involved.

"We try to match the needs of participants and everyone involved, but God has been taking care of us from the beginning," Rigdon said.

Anyone interested in participating in Project HOPE can call 651-0551 for information.